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Job seekers spend an average of 49.7 seconds reading a job add before dismissing it and 76.7 seconds reading ads that interest them, according to an eye-tracking study conducted by TheLadders. Many of the people who participated in the study claimed they spend one to five minutes reading each job ad, and some said they spend up to 10 minutes.

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Recruiters spend more time viewing candidates' LinkedIn photos than they do reading profile information, according to a study by TheLadders. Resumes with clear organization are more likely to be highly rated by recruiters, the study noted.

Prevent your lack of experience from ruining your job prospects by showing how work you've done in a different field might be helpful to the employer, says Amanda Augustine, resident job search expert at TheLadders. "The point is to find common ground between your past successes and what an employer needs right now," she says.

Dual-career couples seeking positions at the same institution can face concerns over nepotism in leadership if one takes on a supervisory role, writes Gene Fant, vice president for academic administration at Union University, in Jackson, Tenn. Many schools have policies to prevent such situations, but couples should be up-front about their aspirations when applying for jobs, Fant notes in this blog post. "At the very least, a candidate should be clear about the need for a second position early on in the process," he advises.

The average recruiter spends only 6 seconds reading your resume to decide if you're a good fit, says a study by TheLadders. Using eye-tracking technology, the study found photos, graphics and videos distract recruiters from information about your skills.

TV spots and magazine ads do a much better job of connecting with consumers than Web ads, scoring higher when rated by the number of ad impressions and ad recall, according to research by McPheters Co., working with Conde Nast and CBS Vision. The study used eye-tracking software to gauge the effectiveness of Web ads.